Allo USBRIDGE SIGNATURE Player - Owners Thread

If you are only comparing AES or LVDS Differential I2S outputs there will likely be no difference in the sound (hopefully you got a decent DAC, Amp and speakers). The advantage the USBridge has is its clean USB output (and you don't need the Pi2AES for that).

FYI it is strongly advised to get the Meanwell 24V SMPS with the Pi2AES.
Yes I got the meanwell 24V SMPS power supply has well. I am going to use AES or I2S and for that a friend had suggested the PI 3B+ is enough (or get a P14 when available) with Pi2AES down powering them and keep the usbsignature/shanti separate
 
Yes I got the meanwell 24V SMPS power supply has well. I am going to use AES or I2S and for that a friend had suggested the PI 3B+ is enough (or get a P14 when available) with Pi2AES down powering them and keep the usbsignature/shanti separate
The Pi3B+ is perfectly fine. The Pi4 just offers a cleaner USB out but you are not using USB anyway (The Pi2AES will be using the GPIO).

This is the same reason why Allo did not upgrade the USBridge for the Pi4, and continue to use the Pi3 compute module for the USBridge.

I actually gave my Pi2AESs away to friends. There are many cheap off-the-shelf solutions like the Topping M50 that have better WAF now. If you have a bigger budget you can consider Bluesound, Aurender, NAD, Naim, Sonore, Lumin, Innuos, SOtM, Matix, Magna, ... the list is endless.

Last I checked, the Matrix and Cambridge audio boxes were the most VFM of the bunch but VFM is subjective so do your own research.

You can also try this.
or this RPI based unit https://magnahifi.com/mano-ultra-music-streamer-high-res/
or https://metrumacoustics.com/audio-streamer/33-metrum-ambre.html

Home-made boxes like the Pi2AES or Allo DigiOne Player are fine for DIY and to learn but not decor friendly.
 
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Received the Pi2AES yesterday, assembled it in the acrylic box and installed Debian 11 and configured MPD and LMS with Squeezelite. Tested over Coaxial and SPDIF and it sounded good to my ears.
 
Update, i've upgraded my DAC from 2Qute to Qutest, and still with Allo USBridge Signature and Shanti LPS - one good thing is that now I'm able to use Shanti's 5v 1A out to feed my Qutest - awesome!
Local files via DLNA/ streaming, and airplay all working wonderfully.
 
Received the Pi2AES yesterday, assembled it in the acrylic box and installed Debian 11 and configured MPD and LMS with Squeezelite. Tested over Coaxial and SPDIF and it sounded good to my ears.
Missed this post. What are you feeding the Pi2AES with? RPi 4B?
 
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